What could protestors have done to put pressure on the government? What could pro-democracy folks do now to sustain the movement without violating the law?

The main non-cooperation act in the society is the call to pay taxes by stacks of checks each amounting to $68.90 or $689, or $6890 etc. This act has symbolic value but doesn’t really achieve anything. See 良心抗稅運動. See blog posts on targeted boycott.

The Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government (LOCPG), the de facto government in Hong Kong, … has taken control of Sino United Publishing Limited, the dominant player in the local publishing market, through a shell company based in Hong Kong, the magazine said, quoting documents from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Sino United Publishing has businesses ranging from publishing to distribution and retailing. The publisher wholly owns three local major bookstores — Joint Publishing HK, Chung Hwa Book Co. and the Commercial Press.

Stacks of pro-umbrella books at one of the small upstairs independent bookstores in Causeway Bay:

Stacks of anti-umbrella books at one of the main bookstore chains in Wanchai:

[July 12-] The pro-establishment camp is suddenly faced with another crisis: Made-in-China water pipes contain high levels of lead and a pro-govt legislator is related to the contractor company China State Construction. There should be a growing market for local businesses using supplies that comply with int’l standards.

Hong Kong people do not seem to be aware of a key lesson in nonviolent movements: that methods of dispersal such as targeted boycotts can be just as effective as methods of concentration. It is possible to keep up the momentum while everyone goes back to school or work.

This is particularly the case in a system where economic privileges are manipulated to maintain political stability.

Of course, Hong Kong protestors have deeply impressed the world that half a million people could peacefully demonstrate in the streets.

Unlike other nonviolent movements, HK people have enjoyed freedom even without democracy. As such, they have had little need to pursue methods of dispersal which are often adopted to avoid direct repression. As police brutality increases and freedom shrinks, it may become increasingly necessarily to come up with innovative tactics of dispersal.

Special Report: The mainland’s colonization of the Hong Kong economy (Reuters):

When Xi Jinping wanted to deliver a political message to Hong Kong as protesters demanding free elections were threatening to take to the streets, he summoned the tycoons who dominate the city’s economy. The words from the Chinese leader at the September 22 meeting in Beijing were uncompromising but not surprising. He would not entertain any demand for full universal suffrage in Hong Kong, according to two people who attended…

summoning the city’s business leaders suggests Beijing may be more concerned than it is prepared to acknowledge. The city’s business leaders were also called to the capital in the aftermath of a 500,000-strong protest in 2003 when China attempted to introduce controversial new security laws. The proposed laws were withdrawn and the then chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, was eventually forced to resign.

“Mainlanders now tend to see Li Ka-shing as a ‘profit comes first’ businessman, rather than ‘a role model who loves the country and Hong Kong’.” … Thanks to the two-week long media bashing of the “superman” on the mainland, every tycoon in town should by now know who the boss is and how to behave. Beijing is, however, not allowing them much time to turn “patriotic”. It is not taking any chances, grooming its own crop of patriotic tycoons in Hong Kong… Since 2012, newcomers from the north have grabbed land worth at least HK$33 billion, a near fivefold jump in four years…

Hong Kong kingmakers? The 300 committee members with long history of voting for chief executives: most of those election veterans are delegates to the National People’s Congress, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – loyalists appointed by Beijing – business tycoons and religious leaders.

A restaurant 「喜記避風塘炒辣蟹」has been targeted for boycott after the owner was alleged to have indecently assaulted female student protestors during a counter-protest. The owner complains that he has lost HK$800,000 in revenues by Oct. 21: http://hk.apple.appledaily.com/news/art/20141022/18908438

Students should consider alternative ways to pressure the government without inconveniencing regular Hong Kong people, said Victoria Hui, associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame and author of “War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe.” Protesters could organize targeted boycotts or convince people to withhold income tax payments, she said. (Bloomberg)

Victoria Hui, associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, says that a hit on the industries dependent on tourism doesn’t have to be detrimental for the protest movement. “Many people are already incensed by the effect of mass tourism from the mainland,” she says. “Rents have shot up and many mom-and-pop stores are torn down for the benefit of malls catering to tourists.” ( Time)

Daily Observations:

October 2nd

Tensions in Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution were diffused at the eleventh hour last night, but could rekindle any time unless protestors find a third alternative between escalating and retreating. Tensions were building up last evening as Hong Kong protestors surrounded the Chief Executive’s office and threatened to occupy other government office buildings if CY Leung would not step down by midnight. In response, the police were seen to stockpile tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and even bullets for AR-15 at the Chief Executive’s office. Observers could finally take a deep breath when CY Leung announced that he would appoint the Chief Secretary Carrie Lam to open negotiations with students. However, few people are optimistic that the negotiations would amount to anything. Not only that Mr. Leung refused to resign as demanded by protestors, Beijing has also stepped up its hardline position that it will not change the arrangements to vet candidates for the CE election in 2017 — which caused the protests in the first place. Protestors will thus continue to feel that they have to escalate to more disruptive actions or the movement would lose momentum and die out. But protestors have a third alternative. Scholars have argued that methods of dispersal — such as consumer boycotts and nonpayment of taxes — could be as effective as methods of concentration — such as the massive demonstrations that are on display now. If targeted boycotts hurt the interest of business tycoons whose support CY relies on and if nonpayment of taxes make bureaucrats unable to administer Hong Kong, then protestors would have a higher chance of compelling concessions and avoiding direct clashes with the police. And the movement will be sustainable in the long-term even when people have to go back to school or to work.

October 1st

International and local commentaries alike are wondering for how long the “umbrella revolution” could last. The CY Leung government learned the painful lesson last Sunday that repression would only backfire. They have pulled back the riot police and protests have surged since then. The government seems to belatedly follow the strategy of ignoring the protests, betting that protestors will eventually go home and the revolution will just fade away without any more clashes for the world to see. Hong Kong people are known for pragmatism as much as their call for democracy. When the rice bowl is at stake, HK people may well slowly retreat from the protest sites. What this strategy misses is that a people power movement could work equally well when it is dispersed as when it is concentrated. Hong Kong people could sustain the movement while still going to work and to school by adopting methods of dispersal. They could, for example, compile a list of business interests closely tied to CY’s inner circle and launch a targeted boycott. Protestors cannot force CY to step down, but may have a chance at forcing his inner circle to force him to step down.